


i was just making sure of you

by lazyfish



Series: Genuary 2021 [8]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Aromantic Character, Aromantic Robin Hinton, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28854987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfish/pseuds/lazyfish
Summary: One of Robin's best friends gets a girlfriend. Luckily, she has another best friend to fall back on.
Relationships: Robin Hinton & Hope Mackenzie
Series: Genuary 2021 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087955
Comments: 12
Kudos: 21





	i was just making sure of you

“Ugh,” Robin says, flopping face-first onto Hope’s bed. “Ace is going to _kill_ me if he keeps talking about his girlfriend.”

“Why?” Hope asks, hopping up onto the foot of the bed and crossing her legs carefully. “I think they’re kind of cute.”

“Sure, they’re cute or whatever,” Robin says, lifting her head up from the bedspread, “but it’s like he forgot he has other friends!” She plunks her head back down with an almighty sigh. “I did not sign up for this.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t have a boyfriend,” Hope offers.

“I know you don’t have a boyfriend. That’s why you’re my best friend.”

“If I got a boyfriend we wouldn’t be best friends anymore?” Hope asks, poking Robin with her foot. Her friend finally pulls herself up to sitting, though Robin almost immediately sprawls back out. At least this time she’s face-up so Hope can hear what she’s saying.

“We would still be friends. You would just be lame for picking a boy over me.”

“Ace isn’t picking a girl over us,” Hope insists. “He’s just…”

“Spending all his time with her and not answering his texts because he totally values our friendship the exact same way he did when he was single?” Robin finishes. She tries not to be a cynic, but seeing the world ending several times a day since she was a kid kind of puts a damper on the whole ‘positive outlook’ thing.

Hope prods Robin with her toe again. “He’s gonna get better about it. He just needs to learn to balance. Or something.”

“You’ve been talking to my mom too much,” Robin whines.

“She has good advice!” Hope defends. 

“Did she also tell you sometimes people never actually _find_ balance?” Robin asks, sitting up. She scoots down the bed until her knees are pressed against Hope’s, the way they used to sit under the kitchen table when they were kids. 

“No,” Hope says softly, looking down at her lap. “I think she doesn’t trust me as much as she trusts you.”

Robin scoffs. “She trusts you plenty. She just doesn’t want to ruin your optimism.”

“I’m not optimistic!”

“Compared to me you are.”

“Everyone is optimistic compared to you.”

If anyone else had said it, Robin would’ve been offended, but Hope is her best friend, so it doesn’t sting quite as much. Hope knows Robin’s pessimistic, but she also knows Robin cares way too much about the world to give up on it. It’s a balance.

 _Balance_. That word seems to keep coming up, and Robin sighs heavily.

“I don’t know. I just… if everyone else keeps getting boyfriends and joyfriends and girlfriends and… _whatever_ , where does that leave me?” Robin bites her lip, a habit she picked up from her aunt and her mom absolutely detests. “Is it selfish to be thinking about that?”

“You can be happy for Ace and still worry about yourself,” Hope answers immediately. “It’s not selfish to care about how your friendships are going to change.”

“But what if I’m not happy for him?” Robin pushes. “What if when you get a boyfriend all my bitterness just eats me up inside and I…” Robin doesn’t know where that sentence ends, but she doesn’t like it. Romance has never been on her radar - she’s never wanted it to be. She likes her life how it is, living in a tiny house down the street from her best friend and just a block down from her other best friend. Everyone else seems to be thinking about love (specifically, the romantic kind of love) but Robin just likes spending time with Hope and Ace and all her family. She doesn’t need anything else.

“You know even when I get a boyfriend, you’re still going to be my number one, right?” Hope nudges her knee against Robin’s. “You’re my _best_ friend. And if Ace doesn’t get his act together soon, I’ll - I’ll -” Hope spends a long time searching for a threat Robin knows will never materialize. Hope has too good of a heart to think about doing anything to Ace.

“It’s okay,” Robin says. “I just need to get over it.”

“You don’t need to get over anything,” Hope retorts. 

“Change is inevitable.” Robin shrugs. She’s seen the future - she _knows_ first-hand it can change. It’s silly to believe her own personal future won’t change along the way, too.

“We don’t have to,” Hope answers stubbornly. “We can stay the same.”

Robin shrugs, her face going uncomfortably warm as she tries to imagine what her life looks like without Hope in it. It’s not a pretty picture. 

“I don’t want you to be afraid to fall in love with someone because you think that means I’ll hate you,” Robin whispers. “I want you to be happy.”

“As much as you may wish otherwise, you don’t actually control me, Robin.” Hope smiles her crooked smile, tilting her head to the side. “I’m not going to do anything just for you. But I’m not going to do anything I know will hurt you, either.”

“...Is this where you tell me you’re actually in love with someone and everything’s going to change again?” Robin asks, the heat spreading from her face to her neck and the tips of her ears.

“No.” Hope puts her hands on Robin’s knees, their weight reassuring. “It’s me telling you that I’m not going to dump you for a boy. Now or ever. Because like I said, you’re my best friend.”

“You’re mine, too,” Robin mumbles.

“I know.” Hope smiles. “And that’s never going to change.”


End file.
